Encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture light shutter

ABSTRACT

An encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter is formed from a cholesteric liquid crystal and monomer that is encapsulated into micron sized, polymer-coated droplets by either an emulsification or phase separation process. The polymer-coated droplets are disposed between transparent electrodes, where they are irradiated by ultra-violet (UV) light to polymerize the monomer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. non-provisional application Ser.No. 13/908,446 filed on Jun. 3, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/654,148 filed on Jun. 1, 2012, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to liquid crystal lightshutters. In particular, the present invention relates to a lightshutter formed of a liquid crystal/polymer composite material. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a light shutter formed ofa liquid crystal/polymer composite material that is encapsulated intodroplets, which allows the light shutter to be highly transparent andhave a large viewing angle.

BACKGROUND

Liquid crystal/polymer composites, such as those used to form polymerdispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) and polymer stabilized cholesterictexture (PSCT) light shutters, have been used to make flexible displays,transparent displays and switchable windows. In a PDLC, theconcentrations of the polymer and the nematic liquid crystal material inthe composite are comparable; however, the nematic liquid crystal existsin isolated droplets that are dispersed in the polymer, such that thedroplet size is comparable to the wavelength of visible light. Duringoperation in the voltage-off state, the liquid crystal inside thedroplets orients randomly throughout the PDLC material. Thus, when lightpropagates through the PDLC material, the encountered effectiverefractive index in the liquid crystal droplet is different from theencountered refractive index n_(p) in the polymer, causing the light toscatter through the material, and as a result, the PDLC material appearsopaque. When a sufficiently high electric field is applied across thePDLC material, the liquid crystal inside the droplets is aligneduniformly along the applied field (film normal direction). Thus, in thecase of normal incident light, when it propagates through the liquidcrystal droplet, the effective refractive index encountered by the lightpropagating through the PDLC material is the ordinary refractive indexn₀ of the liquid crystal, which is matched to the refractive index n_(p)of the polymer. As a result, the light is permitted to be transmittedthrough the PDLC material causing it to become transparent.

In a polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) light shutter, thepolymer concentration of the composite material is usually less than 5%,and it exists in the form of anisotropic networks, which are dispersedin a cholesteric liquid crystal. The liquid crystal exists in domainswith a size comparable to the wavelength of visible light. In onevoltage state, the orientation of the liquid crystals in the domains israndom in the PSCT material, such that the refractive index changes fromdomain to domain resulting in a material that is light scattering. Inanother voltage state, the liquid crystals in the domains are uniformlyaligned in one direction, and as a result, the refractive index of thePSCT material does not vary, allowing the material to becometransparent. Thus, the PSCT material can be switched between a lightscattering state and a transparent state by applying the appropriatevoltage or lack of voltage to the PSCT material.

Furthermore, polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) areself-adhesive, can be easily manufactured by a roll-to-roll process, andmay be formed to take up a large area. Unfortunately, PDLCs have alimited viewing angle because the refractive indices of the polymer andthe liquid crystal are only matched for light incident on the cell(substrate) in a normal direction. In contrast, polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (PSCTs) liquid crystals have a large viewing angle,because the liquid crystal and the dispersed polymer network are alignedin the same direction in the transparent state, and because theirrefractive indices are matched for light incident in any direction.However, it is difficult to manufacture PSCTs using a roll-to-rollmanufacturing process because of the low viscosity of the liquidcrystal/monomer composite mixture.

Therefore, there is a need for an encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter that is self-adhesive. Inaddition, there is a need for an encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture light shutter that has a large viewing angle.Furthermore, there is a need for an encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture light shutter that can be manufactured using aroll-to-roll process. Moreover, there is a need for an encapsulatedpolymer stabilized cholesteric texture light shutter that combines thebenefits of a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) and a polymerstabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the foregoing, it is a first aspect of the present inventionto provide a method of forming a light shutter comprising mixing aliquid crystal material with a monomer material and a polymer;encapsulating the liquid crystal material and the monomer material intoone or more polymer-shelled droplets formed by the polymer by either anemulsion process or a phase separation process, whereby the droplets aredisposed in the polymer; disposing the one or more polymer-shelleddroplets and the polymer between a pair of conductive at least partiallylight transparent electrodes; and polymerizing the monomer.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a light shuttercomprising first and second spaced electrodes, wherein at least one ofthe electrodes is at least partially transparent; a polymer disposedbetween the first and second electrodes; and at least one droplet havinga shell formed of the polymer, the at least one droplet carried in thepolymer, such that the at least one droplet carries a mixture of liquidcrystal material and a polymerized monomer; wherein when a first voltageis applied to the first and second electrode, the liquid crystalmaterial is placed in a light scattering state, and when a secondvoltage is applied to the first and second electrodes, the liquidcrystal material is placed in an at least partially light transparentstate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1a-b are schematic drawings showing the manner in which anencapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT) lightshutter is operated, whereby FIG. 1a shows the light shutter in ascattering state, and FIG. 1b shows the light shutter in a transparentstate in accordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a chart showing the transmittance as a function of appliedvoltage for EPSCT light shutters having different film thicknesses inaccordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a chart showing light transmittance as a function of theincident viewing angle of standard polymer dispersed liquid crystal(PDLC) and polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) light shuttersversus an encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT)light shutter of the present invention, where a voltage of 50V wasapplied for all measurements;

FIGS. 4a-b are schematic view of a photograph of a 10 μm EPSCT lightshutter, such that FIG. 4a shows the EPSCT light shutter in alight-scattering state in the absence of voltage, and FIG. 4b shows theEPSCT light shutter in a transparent state when 50V is applied inaccordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a chart of light transmittance as a function of voltageapplied to the EPSCT light shutter having different thicknesses inaccordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a chart showing light transmittance as a function of incidentviewing angle of the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture(EPSCT) light shutter, as compared to that of a regular polymerstabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) and polymer dispersed liquidcrystal (PDLC) light shutter in the transparent state in accordance withthe concepts of the present invention; and

FIGS. 7a-b are schematic views of photographs of the EPSCT lightshutter, whereby FIG. 7a shows the EPSCT light shutter in alight-scattering state in the absence of an applied voltage, and FIG. 7bshows the EPSCT light shutter in a transparent state when 50V is appliedthereto in accordance with the concepts of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Operation of the EncapsulatedPolymer Stabilized Cholesteric Texture (EPSCT) Light Shutter

An encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT) lightshutter 10 is fabricated in two processing steps. In a first step, acholesteric liquid crystal 20 and a monomer material 30 that ispolymerized at a subsequent time in the process as a polymer network areencapsulated into droplets 40 having a size of about 10 μm, as shown inFIG. 1 of the drawings. It should be appreciated that this encapsulationprocess may be achieved through either an emulsification method, a phaseseparation method or by any other suitable method.

In the emulsification method, the liquid crystal material 20 and themonomer material 30 are mixed with water and a water-soluble polymer 42,or other suitable polymerizing initiator. The mixture is then stirred toform shelled droplets, whereby the polymer forms the shell of thedroplet, while the liquid crystal 20 and the monomer material 30 aredisposed inside the droplets 40. In one aspect, various agents may beadded to the mixture to stabilize the droplets 40. The encapsulatedmaterial is then sandwiched or otherwise disposed between two substrates50 and 60 with transparent electrodes 70 and 80.

In the phase separation method, the liquid crystal material 20 andmonomer material 30 are combined with a thermoplastic polymer 82, orother suitable polymerizing initiator. The mixture is then sandwiched orotherwise disposed between two at least partially transparent substrates50,60 with transparent electrodes 70,80 that are configured to becoupled to any suitable voltage source “V”, such as an AC (alternatingcurrent) or DC (direct current) voltage source. When the combinedmaterial is heated to a high temperature, the polymer 42, the liquidcrystal 20 and the monomer material 30 are uniformly mixed to form amixture. When the mixture is cooled, the liquid crystal 20 and themonomer material 30 phase separate from the polymer 82 to form polymershelled droplets 40. That is, the droplets 40 encapsulate the liquidcrystal material 20 and the monomer material 30 in a polymer shell. Itshould also be appreciated that the substrates 50,60 and correspondingtransparent electrodes 70,80 used to form the light shutter 10 may becombined, such that substrates 50,60 form electrically conductiveelectrodes. In a further aspect, it should be appreciated that either orboth of the substrates 50,60 and that either or both of the electrodes70,80 may be at least partially transparent.

In a second step of forming an encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 using either of theemulsification or phase separation method, the monomer material 30 ispolymerized under UV irradiation in the homeotropic texture in thepresence of an externally-applied electric field. The liquid crystal 20has a positive dielectric anisotropy and tends to align parallel to theapplied electric field. The formed polymer network 30 is anisotropic andperpendicular to the cell substrate and divides the liquid crystal 20into domains with a size comparable to the wavelength of visible light.

The operation of the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture(EPSCT) light shutter 10 is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.Specifically, in the absence of an electric field, the liquid crystals20 are placed in the poly-domain focal conic texture, as shown in FIG.1a , such that the refractive index is varied in space causing the EPSCTmaterial to be highly light scattering. The scattering of light ismainly caused by the abrupt refractive index change between the domainsof the liquid crystals 20. When a sufficiently high voltage is appliedacross the EPSCT cell 10, as shown in FIG. 1b , the helical structure ofthe liquid crystals (with Δ∈>0) is unwound, and the liquid crystals 20are uniformly aligned parallel to the polymer network 30, thus causingthe EPSCT light shutter 10 to become transparent.

It should be appreciated that the light shutter 10 of the presentinvention may serve as a single cell, which is combined in a matrix of aplurality of similar cells to form a larger overall light shutter.Alternatively, the components of the light shutter 10 may be configuredto take on any desired dimension and suitable shape.

II. Experimental Results Example 1: Emulsification Method

During the formation of the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesterictexture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 using the emulsification method,water-soluble Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) was used, such that theconcentrations of the materials were about: 46% water; 8.1% PVA; 2.7%surfactant; and 43.2% liquid crystal/monomer mixture. The solution wasplaced into a bottle and stirred by spinning a magnet carried inside thebottle. The spinning speed of the magnet was one of the factorscontrolling the droplet size, and as such, the spinning speed was set atabout 500 RPM (revolutions per minute). The stirring time was about 15seconds, and the liquid crystal/monomer mixture was emulsified intodroplets having a size of about 10-20 μm.

The emulsion may be coated on either a glass plate or on PET(polyethylene terephthalate) film with ITO (indium-tin-oxide)electrodes. A doctor blade was used in the coating process to produce auniform film thickness without breaking the droplets. The emulsion wasallowed to dry in air for several hours. In addition, a second substratewas laminated on the top of the emulsion. In one aspect, heating theemulsion may be performed to soften the material to assist its adherenceto the top substrate.

In the final dried emulsion, the concentration of the liquidcrystal/monomer was about 80%. The cholesteric liquid crystals (LCs)were made from nematic E44 liquid crystal material and chiral dopantR811 material, while the monomer comprised RM257 material, which isbi-functional. The pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystals were about 1μm, and the ratio between the liquid crystals and the monomer was about97:3. A very small amount of photo-initiator was also added into themixture before the emulsification process was carried out. During the UV(ultra-violet light) curing process, a sufficiently high voltage wasapplied across the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture(EPSCT) light shutter, such that the mixture was in the homeotropictexture where the helical structure of the liquid crystals were unwound,such that the liquid crystals became aligned in the cell normaldirection. The formed polymer network was anisotropic and in the samedirection as the liquid crystal during the polymerization. The UVintensity was 10 mW/cm², and the curing time was about 30 minutes.

The light transmittance of the encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 at various thicknesses(such as 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 um for example), as a function of theapplied voltage is shown in FIG. 2. Specifically, in the absence of anapplied voltage, the light shutter 10 is placed in a light-scatteringstate, whereby its light transmittance is low. Alternatively, when thevoltage applied to the light shutter 10 is increased, the lighttransmittance of the light shutter 10 increases. Finally, whensufficiently high voltages are applied to the EPSCT light shutter 10 ofthe present invention, the light shutter 10 is switched to asubstantially transparent state, where its light transmittances arehigh.

In addition, the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture(EPSCT) light shutter 10 of the present invention was able to achieve alarge viewing angle, which is a major advantage over polymer dispersedliquid crystal (PDLC) devices. To conduct the measurement, a 10 μm thickEPSCT film 10 was immersed in glycerol (whose refractive index matchingwith glass) contained in a glass cylinder. The EPSCT light shutter 10was then rotated to change the light incident angle. For comparison withthe EPSCT light shutter 10, the viewing angle of a regular polymerdispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) and a regular polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (PSCT) light shutter were measured. The regular PSCTsample light shutter was made from the same mixture as the EPSCT lightshutter 10 of the present invention and cured under the same conditions.The regular PDLC sample was made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and E44emulsion with much smaller droplets (<1 μm), and coated with the sameprocedure as the EPSCT light shutter 10 of the present invention. Boththe regular PDLC light shutter and the regular PSCT light shutter(control shutters) also had a film thickness of 10 μm. The lighttransmittance of the regular PDLC and regular PSCT light shutters, andthe EPSCT light shutter 10 in the transparent state as a function of theincident angle is shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows that theEPSCT light shutter 10 of the present invention had a much betterviewing angle than the regular PDLC light shutter.

Continuing, schematic views of the encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 of the present inventionare shown in FIGS. 4a-b . Specifically, when no voltage was applied, thelight shutter 10 is placed in a light-scattering state, and appearedmilky in color, such that it blocked the scene/image that was locatedbehind the EPSCT light shutter 10, as shown in FIG. 4a . When a voltagewith an amplitude of 50 V was applied, the EPSCT light shutter 10 wasswitched to a transparent state, whereby and the scene/image that waslocated behind the EPSCT light shutter 10 was able to be seen as shownin FIG. 4 b.

Example 2: Phase Separation Method

In the phase separation method of forming the light shutter 10, acholesteric liquid crystal and monomer were mixed with a polymer, suchas poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The concentration of PMMA was about20% and the concentration of the liquid crystal and monomer material wasabout 80%. The liquid crystal/monomer mixture comprised about 83.7%nematic liquid crystal E44, about 13.0% chiral dopant R811, about 3.0%monomer R.M257 and about 0.3% photo-initiator BME (benzoin methylester). The liquid crystal, monomer and polymer were mixed andsandwiched between two glass substrates and transparent indium-tin-oxide(ITO) electrodes to form the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesterictexture (EPSCT) light shutter 10. Moreover, the thickness of thethickness of the light shutter 10 defined by the space between the pairof electrodes/substrate, was about 20 μm. In addition, the light shutter10 was heated above about 120° C. and then cooled down to roomtemperature at the cooling rate of about −0.1 degree/minute. Finally,the light shutter 10 was placed under ultra-violet (UV) light topolymerize the monomer. Thus, when sufficiently high voltages wereapplied, the light shutter 10 was switched to a transparent state,whereupon its light transmittances became high. It should also beappreciated that the light shutter formed using the phase separationmethod also achieved a large viewing angle. Moreover, FIG. 5 shows thelight transmittance of the encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesterictexture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 for varying applied voltages.

Next, the light transmittance of the EPSCT light shutter 10 of thepresent invention in the transparent state as a function of the lightincident angle was also evaluated, as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings.As such, the EPSCT light shutter 10 achieved a better viewing angle thanthe regular PDLC light shutter.

In addition, schematic views of photographs of the encapsulated polymerstabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter 10 are shown inFIGS. 7a-b of the drawings. Specifically, when no voltage was applied,the EPSCT light shutter 10 was in the light scattering state, andappeared milky, so as to block the scene/image located behind the lightshutter 10, as shown in FIG. 7a . When a voltage with an amplitude of 50V was applied, the EPSCT light shutter 10 of the present invention wasswitched to the transparent state and the scene or image disposed behindthe light shutter 10 was able to be seen therethrough by a viewer, asshown in FIG. 7 b.

Therefore, one advantage of an encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter of the present invention isthat it is self-adhesive and can be manufactured in a roll-to-rollprocess. Another advantage of the encapsulated polymer stabilizedcholesteric texture (EPSCT) light shutter is that it has a highlytransparent state and large viewing angle. Still another advantage ofthe encapsulated polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (EPSCT) lightshutter of the present invention is that it can be used for variousapplications, including flexible displays, switchable privacy windows,and energy-saving architectural windows, which is highly desirable.

Thus, it can be seen that the objects of the invention have beensatisfied by the structure and its method for use presented above. Whilein accordance with the Patent Statutes, only the best mode and preferredembodiment has been presented and described in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.Accordingly, for an appreciation of the true scope and breadth of theinvention, reference should be made to the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a light shutter comprising:providing a polymer material; fully encapsulating a liquid crystalmaterial and a monomer material into one or more shells formed by thepolymer material; disposing the polymer material and the shells includedtherein between a pair of conductive at least partially lighttransparent electrodes; and polymerizing the monomer material to form apolymer network within the shells.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thepolymer material comprises a mixture of water and a water solublepolymer, and wherein the encapsulating step is carried out by: mixingthe liquid crystal material, the monomer material, and the polymermaterial together.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the disposing stepis carried out by coating the mixed liquid crystal material, the monomermaterial, and the polymer material onto one of the electrodes.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the polymer material comprises athermoplastic polymer, and wherein the encapsulating step is carried outby: heating a mixture of the liquid crystal material, the monomermaterial, and the thermoplastic polymer; and cooling the mixture.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the electrodes comprise indium-tin-oxide(ITO).
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymerizing step iscarried out by exposing the monomer material to UV (ultraviolet) light.7. The method of claim 6, wherein the polymerizing step furtherincludes: exposing the monomer material to an electric field.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the size of the one or more shells is about 1to 100 μm.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the disposing step isperformed by a roll-to-roll process.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinthe liquid crystal material comprises nematic liquid crystal material.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal material is chiralnematic liquid crystal material or cholesteric liquid crystal material.12. A light shutter comprising: a pair of at least partially lighttransparent electrodes; a polymer material disposed between theelectrodes; a plurality of shells entirely formed by the polymericmaterial; and liquid crystal material stabilized within the shells by apolymer network.
 13. The light shutter of claim 12, wherein theelectrodes are formed of indium-tin-oxide (ITO).
 14. The light shutterof claim 12, wherein the liquid crystal material comprises nematicliquid crystal material.
 15. The light shutter of claim 12, wherein thelight shutter is self-adhesive.
 16. The light shutter of claim 12,wherein the polymer network is substantially perpendicular to at leastone of the electrodes and divides the liquid crystal material into aplurality of domains.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the liquidcrystal material is chiral nematic liquid crystal material orcholesteric liquid crystal material.
 18. A method of forming a lightshutter comprising: providing a polymer material; fully encapsulatingliquid crystal material into a plurality of shells within the polymermaterial; and stabilizing the liquid crystal material within the shellsby a polymer network.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the liquidcrystal material comprises nematic liquid crystal material.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising: disposing the polymer between apair of at least partially light transparent electrodes.